New York -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Dumpster-lined streets and sidewalks strewn with destroyed art hint at the damage Hurricane Sandy wreaked on New York 's most important art district last week ; but as electricity slowly returns and flood waters recede , the impact of the `` super storm '' is still uncertain in New York 's downtown Chelsea neighborhood .

`` Chelsea is the center of America for contemporary art , '' Zach Feuer , owner of Zach Feuer gallery , told CNN . `` This is a big cultural loss . ''

The destruction has left the contemporary and modern art world reeling , and as the recovery effort continues the massive creative and monetary toll is rising fast .

`` I would not be surprised if , when it 's all said and done , the damage that is done to our art world will be in the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in unrecoverable work , '' gallery owner Leo Koenig said .

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What caused so much damage ?

When the surge from Hurricane Sandy pushed water levels to record highs on Monday night , flooding from the Hudson River quickly filled basements and street level facilities that are used primarily for art storage and exhibitions in Chelsea . In many cases , precautionary sandbags and sealants were washed away easily , and even works that were elevated high on the wall were soaked by morning .

As the storm subsided , gallery owners and managers returned early on Tuesday , but much of the permanent damage had already been done .

Gallery owner Derek Eller returned to his building but could n't operate his electric gate because of the power outage . From a back window he was able to see boxes on the ground floor that had floated up when flooding in his 1,800-square-foot basement nearly reached the ceiling .

`` It 's a disaster , pieces are lost forever , '' Eller said after emerging from his still-soaked basement . `` We have been saving works over the past three days . ''

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Koenig sealed the bottom of the entrance to his space in preparation for the hurricane . `` My common sense told me that if there was a foot and a half of water standing on 23rd Street , the world was about to end , '' he said . But when Koenig opened his doors the following day , water trapped in the gallery all night by the sealant came gushing out onto the sidewalk .

While many returned to find their collections in ruins , some witnessed the wreckage as it unfolded .

`` The surge came in and broke through the door , and knocked me down , '' Silas Seandel , a sculptor who lives above his studio , told CNN . '' -LSB- It -RSB- threw me and thousands of pounds of steel , and bronze , and sheets , all the way to the back door . ''

Remarkably , Seandel was able to return to higher ground and wait out the storm .

From Eller 's basement to those barely affected , galleries and conservators seem to agree that the priority right now is recovering as much work as possible and keeping it dry .

`` The conservators were here immediately , there are trucks leaving with art constantly to get repaired , '' said Feuer , who estimates millions of dollars in damage to his gallery alone . `` The mold is kind of our biggest race , so there 's a speed issue . ''

Other galleries have had to perform restorations on their own , reaching out to artists and conservators for insight during this crucial time . Marisa Newman , co-owner of Newman Popiashvili Gallery , gathered as much work as she could and raced uptown to her parents ' home on Tuesday , knowing they still had power .

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`` I used their apartment for art triage , '' Newman recounted , `` I brought as much there , and we just cracked open all the frames , got everything out so they would just dry . '' Newman is now using the space above her gallery to hold and restore other works .

To further assist this process , the Museum of Modern Art and conservators from the American Institute for Conservation Collections Emergency Response Team , are offering official guidelines and `` a free public presentation on recovering wet art and cultural materials , '' according to an official release from MoMA .

Despite the chaos , this generally competitive community has worked tirelessly to come together and ease the blow that Sandy has dealt , providing each other with generators , food and everything in between .

`` This kind of event brings back the human factor to it , '' said Emilio Steinberger , senior director at the gallery Haunch of Venison . `` These are artists , these are dealers , people put their heart and soul into the art world and they 're moving to save it , and put things back together . ''

How to help

This sentiment seems to be echoing through the galleries of the damaged neighborhood , and many have been adamant that Chelsea 's art culture will not only recover but maintain its prestigious position within the art world .

Seandel , who has worked and held exhibits in the same studio since 1978 , has already insisted that he will repair and refinish all damaged works . `` I 'm 75 years old , but I feel I 've still got a lot of life in me , my work is still in demand all over the world , '' Seandel said .

`` The thing about the New York gallery community is that it 's an industry full of extremely intelligent , extremely capable people , '' gallery owner Cristin Tierney said . `` So , I really believe that as dire as things are now , we 're going to bounce back . ''

Photos : New York recovers from Sandy

CNN 's Crista Giuliani contributed to this report .

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One gallery owner anticipates losses to the art world in the `` hundreds of millions ''

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`` Chelsea is the center of America for contemporary art , '' another says

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Flooding from the Hudson River quickly filled basements and street-level facilities

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Sculptor says he and thousands of pounds of metal were knocked down by the surge